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TOTD // 05/05 // Shenoda

Published: May 5, 2017, words by Will Soer

Within Will Saul‘s AUS Music, Shenoda is something of a secret weapon. He epitomises the imprint’s characteristic blend of chin-stroking production values and skull-rattling frequencies. You probably already know the East London resident from his collaborations with Huxley, or his placement in enormous Hydra-curated lineups at venues such as the Warehouse Project alongside Richie Hawtin, Ben UFO and John Talabot. Shenoda’s selections for Watch The Hype focus on the masters who inform his work, and he neatly sums up his craft when describing one track’s nature as “really functional club music that’s unique also”. This can be seen in his sets, whose throbbing mixture of techno, house and acid entrances dancers with each twist.

In the same vein as records like John Coltrane’s ‘A Love Supreme’, which prove that a jazz quartet can achieve more than a full orchestra, Shenoda’s production style combines a few perfectly crafted elements to form records that sound alive. This can be seen in tracks such as previous Radio 1 Hottest Record in the World ‘Minute‘, which begins with a shaded grumpy bassline and punchy percussion, layers in brightly ethereal vocals and ambient textures, and then oscillates between the light and dark.

The title track on Shenoda’s recent EP, the appropriately titled Burn, compresses this oscillation into a single flickering synth riff that gently burrows its way into listeners’ heads, before burning out and suddenly returning in full force with an unexpectedly joyous vocal chant. Like the best releases on AUS, these tracks are equally ideal for peak time sets and arguments about whether house is “proper music”. ‘Burn”s midway embrace of hedonism makes perfect sense in the context of his recent purported creative burst, directed by a desire not to overthink things. Shenoda has been bringing his love of physical grooves to the forefront of his practice with tracks founded on live hardware jams, resulting in “a ton of new tracks I’m really happy with” due to be released later this year. Thinkers and dancers alike had best keep their eyes on him.

DJ Jus Ed

I'm Comin' (Levon Vincent Remix)

“There’s really too many superb Levon productions to choose from. I’m an absolute sucker for those weighty kicks I guess. Rather than go for one of his darker / dubber cuts I thought pick this one. The vocal in the original version is not to my taste but Levon takes it and transforms it into a simple, but classic sounding house track. I remember hearing this at my first time at Panorama bar, it couldn’t have set the scene any better to be honest. Classy stuff.”

DJ Bone

A1 R.I.D.E. (Rest In Drexciyan Eternity)

“I pretty much always play at least one DJ Bone or DJ Qu track in most sets. Often churning out really functional club music that’s unique also, they just work. This is taken off a more experimental Bone EP, which I believe was written in memory of Drexiya’s James Stinson passing. Despite being a somewhat melancholy inspiration this track still bangs. A great electro cut from a Detroit don. What’s not to love?!”

Shed

Atmo-Action

“Rene Pawlowitz’s music really speaks to me. His raw and rugged take on production often with a reference to the past is something I’ve always looked to take influence from. After the release of his recent album it made me go back and revisit some of his older ones again. This was a fav off The Traveller. Superb 90’s-sounding pads (I’m guessing a Roland JV2080??) and killer broken-beat Techno drums make this an essential track from the album.”

Nail

Till the Feelings Gone

“When I first started producing I’d spend forever trying to perfect the swung groove. This track absolutely nails (excuse the pun) it for me. Having missed the original first time being that it was out a bit before my time, Fear of Flying re-issued this a few years back and its never left the bag since.”